Washington, DC – A review of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) documents by the Ways and Means Committee reveals that conservative groups (groups whose name includes the phrases “conservative,” “Tea Party,“ “Patriot,” or “9/12”) received much higher scrutiny than groups containing the phrase “progressive.” Utilizing its section 6103 authority, which allows the Committee to look at individual taxpayer cases, the Committee found:
- More Questions: Conservative groups were asked three times as many questions on average than progressives.
- More Denials: Less than half of conservative groups received approval while all progressive groups did.
- More Delays: As of May 31, 2013, there are still 56 conservative groups who have outstanding cases or have withdrawn while there are no progressive groups.
In releasing of the new data, Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) stated: “The facts are very clear – not only were conservative groups targeted by the IRS, but they received much higher scrutiny than progressives. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg; we have received less than three percent of the documents responsive to the investigation. So, Congress will continue to investigate how the targeting began, why it was allowed to continue for so long, and what the IRS is doing to resolve this. Americans deserve to know the full truth.”
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100% of “Progressives” Approved While Less than Half of Conservative Groups Approved
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Conservative Groups Still Have Almost 60 Cases Outstanding or
Withdrawn While Progressives Have None
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